“Please, Mr. Weinstein, take this letter at face value. There is no hidden agenda. I am reaching out to you and AHF in the hopes of a day where we may sit across the table from one another and agree on common goals and strategy on protecting performers, as opposed to continuing this battle. I hope to hear back from you.”
That’s what Peter’s open letter to Weinstein says.
Acworth puts forth four ideas :
A multi-faceted approach to performer safety that avoids one-size-fits-all solutions.
Better education for performers and fans.
Condom-optional sets, with no discrimination for performers who request to use them.
Embracing the use of a PrEP regimen.
If all of this sounds familiar it’s because I have said many times that this would have been a better approach. the problem now is that it is too little too late. i expect Peter sees whats coming and i am talking about more than just the condom law. Kink itself is under some pretty heavy scrutiny right now, the fan is blowing full speed and the shit is in the hopper, so to speak. And even if Weinstein did accept this offer it’s too late to derail the condom law. Should the condom law get shelved again it might help but somehow I doubt it, the battle has escalated too far for this particular compromise.
Maybe better late than never. This might have had a chance had it been proffered years ago.
47 Responses
Peter Acworth Offers Up A Conditional Surrender To Weinstein http://t.co/aRonOBJrDi
A little too little, a little too late. While Ackworth is still looking for ways to skirt the law, the industry now has Axel Braun to deal with, Will the usual suspects now line up and call Braun a ‘scoundrel” and traitor, like they did Tristian Tormino(?)
TRUVADA is a great thing, but there are two HUGE problems with it. First is the cost. A proper regiment of Truvada costs about $1,000 per month, and I dont know of any insurance that pays for it.(maybe some do, I dont know.) And the cost is what leads to the second problem. If not taken properly it is not as effective. When you skip days,(like lots of patients do with their prescriptions are expensive), the drug does not work as effectively, thus, a false sense of security.
Who does Ackworth think is going to pay for the Truvada treatments that he recommends. Of course like every other thing in porn when it comes to health and safety I assume he would like the performers to cover the costs. And before anyone talks about Kink paying for tests, answer this, does Kink pay for oral and anal std testing? NO they do not.
When Axel Braun admits that his oppostition to condoms was strictly financial, the whole FSC argument pretty much gets blown out of the water. Cant wait to see Axels statement read out loud at the Appropriations Committee hearing on ab1576, and the FSC response.
Ackworth also proposes using Truvada(PReP). Great idea in theory, but MAJOR problems with that. First, the cost. A proper regim of Truvada costs about @1,000 a month, and I dont know of any insurance that covers it. The cost leads to the second problem. When you dont take the med as intended, you INCREASE your risk of infection. The link below it to the Truvada website. Take special notes of the parts that talk about taking the medication properly, People often skip their meds to save money, and with Truvada, skipping doses lessens its effectiveness.
Then take very special notes of the parts where they insist that you also use safersex practices along with TRUVADA,,,,,,”You MUST continue to use safe sex practices when you are taking Truvada to reduce your risk of gettign HIV.”
Actually, it’s FDA approved for sex workers, so it’s covered like any other medication for anyone with insurance. Secondly, even if you miss a day or two, it has a large half-life and, you’re still about 90% covered. Regardless of the AB1576, there’s no reason for the adult community not to be talking about PrEP.
While I agree that PReP has a lot of potential I would actually be concerned that the industry would offer it up as some sort of cure all when its far from it.
The way the industry shoots Truvada MIGHT help but only a little because it isnt really a vaccine…it simply lowers the likelihood that you can get infected…it does NOT eliminate it.
In one study, healthy gay and bisexual men who took Truvada daily and were counseled about safe sex practices lowered their risk of becoming infected by up to 42%. In another study involving heterosexual couples in which one partner was HIV-positive, the uninfected partner had a 75% lower risk of contracting HIV if they took Truvada.
and if you dont think porners would use it as an excuse to engage in more risky behavior then you are clearly out of touch with the biz.
I do agree with Peter though in that condom use should be optional with no repercussions but once again anyone who thinks that will happen is very out of touch with porn these days.
@Jilted: I DO intend on writing Isadore Hall a letter to add MY voice to the ring! In fact, i’ve already started writing it! The days of producers being able to treat the talent like slaves from the distant past are ABOUT TO BE OVER FOR GOOD!!! And I WILL mention names, too! The directors who advised me to work when I shouldn’t because “it’s the risk she takes” or the directors who asked me to sign an agreement stating that I preferred to not use a condom WITH THE EXPRESS KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY WOULDN’T HIRE ME AGAIN IF I DIDN’T SIGN IT are going to be outed in this letter too! Oh, and a note to the producers, directors, and Diane Duke?????? Ari Bass and Sean Thompkins WILL NOT SUCCEED IN SHUTTING ME UP!!! They can call my company a million times trying to get me fired (like Ari already has tried) or slander my name online until I sue them AND their handlers into joblessness.
Oh, and to the female talent? The men you are ‘working’ with are being trained to give you diseases INSTEAD of calling in sick simply so the producer/director doesn’t have extra headaches! Yup, that is exactly how little they care about you!
And to my haters I simply ask,,, hate on! Just make sure you spell my name right, k?
Either hyperbole for effect or you literally don’t know what slave means.
Actually, those numbers aren’t accurate. Even Weinstein has admitted that Truvada, when taken every day, lowers the chance of transmission to near zero. In fact, in the study you quoted, you left out the most important part:
“The analysis showed that the group assigned to receive Truvada had a 42% reduction in HIV risk compared with those who received placebo. However, the Truvada group included people who were offered Truvada but did not take the pills. When the researchers looked at data only from people with detectable levels of the drugs in their blood (a sign than the medication was being taken regularly), they found that transmissions dropped by as much as 92%. Further analyses indicate that drug levels corresponding to daily use are associated with 99% protection against HIV.” [http://women.prepfacts.org/the-research/]
@jilted
I think Axel already admitted his condom stance at first was for financial reasons in the current press release from AVN. The FSC has been blown out of the water. The 7-day testing is the point where he pushed their faces into the mud after he tripped them.
What we are seeing from Acworth is him realizing he lost. When he says “Companies will move out of state” he is referring to himself and what makes him money. Nevada won’t have that though. I’m sure there are an endless amount of extremely hot women that are involved in the kink community in NH. 😉
This is capitalism at work in the end. After regulation who can survive? Axel Braun is shooting the best-looking material right now. If Acworth shot his in the same format and with condoms I could see him surviving. The people at Kink.com aren’t Axel Braun though. If Braun can shoot films with original ideas then he could totally dominate the industry. He’s good.
I think Peter should offer up a “truce” to Weinfuck, invite him to the Armory then either offer him five million dollars to resign from AHF, go away and never utter the words adult industry and condom ever again publicly or serve him a cup of coffee with a full ounce of arsenic in it. Once Weinfuck is out of the picture this mandatory condumb bullshit goes away faster than Marc Wallice’s porn career once it was found that he was the culprit of the HIV disaster of 1998. I am pretty sure that Izzy will go away on his own once Weinfuck is out of the picture. If not, Photoshop pictures of Izzy fucking a male to female transsexual up the ass and offer them to Harvey Levine of TMZ as real news. Once Harvey publishes the pictures Izzy’s power in the California Legislature is gone quicker than you can say condumb. 🙂
Not sure where to begin or leave off if I want to be succinct…
Acworth met with AHF via OSHA for over four years…screamed the whole time in unison with others that they trusted FSC testing and saw no need to change.
Among the comments here we have a TRUVADA proponent pointing out the exact reason it isn’t and won’t be the industry savior…the studies are fucked up and there aren’t enough of them to prove efficacy in this type setting.
Truvada must be taken daily and comes with recommendation to use condoms. The studies were done with this protocol so to try and apply them in a different setting by extrapolating data from ONE study that tracked non-compliance is beyond foolish and in no way implies that the results are conclusive or reliable.
Recently cal Medicare was duped into dropping the required monthly testing for truvada patients as too onerous and makes the point that this data can’t be applied to patients now authorized to be non-compliant with the studied medication protocols. This deal with cal/Medicare dropping the requirement for monthly testing has to send some serious red flags up to folks (been too busy myself or I’d have looked into who the main proponents of this move)
Then there is the cost of Truvada as a medication for personal lifestyle vs expense of producers as a required PPE (personal protective equipment) which opens a huge can of worms. If you think the fundamental bible thumpers are on the industry case now just wait till it gets around that their taxes are paying via Medicare/ACA for truvada that is promoted as justification for bareback porn.
Lastly we have producers who commented on this site that the reason producers weren’t picking up the tab for testing was because they didn’t have a way to fairly share costs. So now $400 a month becomes $1400 yet beyond…hey what a great idea we haven’t seen anyone stand up and talk about whose going to pony up for this.
Agreed that Truvada should be discussed.
First thing I’d like to see addressed is how it’s gonna get paid for…are performers gonna be expected to pony up for the medicine or insurance so they can be medicated for sexwork?
Now that cal/Medicare isn’t requiring the monthly tests for Truvada patients is the industry thinking they need to maintain frequent testing to ensure that the (depending on the study) one, ten, 25 or 48% chance isn’t on the their set?
What kind of testing will be required with Truvada? Will the PCR-RNA or PCR-DNA still be effective? Will the industry need to use ELISA or WB as well?
No doubt that Truvada could be part of an effective means to keep HIV out of the industry but there is still over 30 other naturally occurring risks to be considered as well.
With Axel Braun, you can say he practices what he preaches since he now is all condom for sexual intercourse scenes. There is a difference between Braun choosing for his movies to be mandatory condom and the government forcing condoms on him and the actors. If actresses and actors want to work with condoms, they can use their own money to make condom only movies. If most of the public is not much bothered by condoms, they should make good money.
Re Braun it is curious that he included testing with condoms and upped it to seven day vs 14. This would better address CT, GC and some of the STI that aren’t fully prevented with condoms such as Syphillis, herpes and MC etc.
I’m curious about moving to a seven day testing frequency beyond my own assumption. Regardless hats off to him for standing up and putting his buck where his mouth is to advocate performer safety on set.
I’m confused about performers becoming producers if they want to shoot condom. I’m against mandated condoms because I believe it’s possible to design standards of testing and responsive exclusion/barrier use paid by producers that would effectively protect performers using a shared costing model. To be truly effective it would require initially testing for antibiotics and antivirals (similar to the Truvada study) to rule out performers trying to game testing for the sake of a buck on their part until the accepted practice of premedication for testing were abandoned.
There are alot of FDA approved drugs that insurance policies dont cover, and according to the makers of Truvada, not taking the medication properly can INCREASE you chance of aquiring HIV. THe manufacturere also stesses the importance of changing the behavior that puts you at high risk, and they emphasise that you practice safe sex, that is condoms, in combination with the drug. Using this drug does NOT mean you dont need condoms, and its use by the porn industry as a way to skirt condoms is NOT what this drug is intended for. Not to mention the very serious potential side effects.
The link here, directly from the manufacturer lays all this out very clearly, CONDOMS are a huge part of what makes Truvada successful.
http://www.truvada.com/
Im not so sure axel made that choice…he shoots for Wicked now and Wicked told him he has to shoot all condom so he spun it into a press release to say he is complying with the law. The 7 Day testing thing is arguably commendable .
@jilted
“As part of” an effective protocol to reduce OPIM-STI risks…does not in any way imply I see Truvada as a replacement or one size fits all deal.
Read a bunch of the studies and lit a couple weeks ago to see if I could discern Weinstein taking the stance he did. In the process got a bit blown away with cal/Medicare not only offering Truvada but agreeing to ditch the monthly testing that the drug maker considers an integral part of its program.
Lots of my concern is that studies of the most compliant are being offered with the expectation that the same results are obtainable by the least compliant. I’m not saying any one person is non-compliant …do say that even with mandatory testing there are too many that go their own way which opens the door to more of the same with a drug like Truvada.
Read the potential health risks but didn’t see anything related to how other STD or long term use can affect health and reproduction.
@MikeSouth
Whatever his motivations/rationale it makes for good press as a comprehensive workplace protocol.
This is where is see the FSC as broken…in four years they were too busy playing games with OSHA to even consider developing viable protocols. Axel Braun can afford to pony up seven day testing without much more than a delay in the new car or toy he wants next but this isn’t true for for most independent producers. If FSC were truly looking out for the industry they would have developed a viable solution with varied options so that the press and others wouldn’t be insistent on one size fits all protocols.
@jaime,
Just for the sake of argument,,,,we have all seen the performer dupes, James Deen, Kayden Cross, and others argue that requiring condoms is a violation of their first ammendment rights. So, wouldnt Axel be violating these performers rights by mandating condoms.
Of course this is a sarcastic comment, but if the dupes want to argue that the free speech rights belong to them(the performers), which it doesnt, then isnt Axel violating their rights. Of course, the speech belongs t the producer, not the performer, and the producer has every right to send the message he chooses, not the performers.
I am not a fan of mandatory condoms but see less problem with a single producer requiring them rather than the unfortunate problem of other producers not allowing them. I am assuming that they know how to use them properly including a change of condom and lube every ten minutes or so. As for seven day testing the only reason it will work here is that few of his talent work for him more than once every 14 days anyway so it at most requires a single additional test (and Axel/Wicked is supposedly paying for that extra test). Seven day testing would be a horror story on performers veins if it were picked up industry-wide — within a year they would not have any veins left to draw blood from.
Regarding Peter’s suggestion I can support it if it takes hold for the most part as long as testing is still part of the solution. I cannot support requiring PREP for performers, however. I think it is unnecessary to force an expensive medication with side effects on someone for the very small risk of HIV on set. If some of his performers want to use it and he is willing to pay for it than more power to them.
For the record I couldn’t care less if a condom shows up in my porn from a viewer perspective. I could do without the external ejaculation in every scene, though. I know I haven’t ever met a chickie that wanted me to cum on her face or chest in my personal life.
I have performed for Peter and pornorobbie so much in the pass years and I got to say. They are the most fagged out creepy motherfuckers I have ever worked for in this Industry.
Two fagged out dopers in San Francisco. They need to move
their business to another country and take that cocaine with them.
Jay Mckenney liked this on Facebook.
I am not familiar with “pornorobbie” but from what I have seen Peter doesn’t come across as a homosexual, he has a wife and a kid for crying out loud. As for the cocaine I think it should be legal to use recreationally anyway so I won’t knock him for using it. I don’t know him personally but before marrying he talked publicly about his love for women and BDSM many times and sounded sincere.
Regarding being creeped out by Peter, I find (being a BDSM person myself) that most people that don’t understand and/or are not into BDSM are creeped out by us in the BDSM community as a rule. I think once you get to know a few of us you will find that we are as a general rule the most ethical and attentive to your needs people that you can find (sometimes to a fault, especially when just getting to know someone). This comes from having safety, consent and safewords drilled into us since we started having sex. One person fucking up makes us all look bad so we are as a general rule very careful what we do especially to those that are new to the scene (certainly I am very careful what I do with someone until I know them well when it comes to bondage, domination and corporal). Maybe Lacey can chime in here on the submissive end of this, I haven’t been in a submissive role in a while so someone that plays in a submissive role regularly now should be able to represent and explain that kink better than I. I can say that being tied up and “played with” by a kinky woman did turn me on to the point where I could cum without direct attention to my dick during play (the idea still does turn me on but with my back injury I have to be careful what I am doing in this regard nowadays, certainly suspension and being hogtied are no longer possibilities for me to do in a submissive role).
Yurizan, I certainly hope you will take the time to learn about what BDSM really entails, I think that will help you in your porn career even if you do not perform in BDSM scenes in the future. Certainly Peter isn’t nearly as “creepy” as many of us come across as being to the uninitiated, I would hate for you to be scared away needlessly from people (Cyd Black comes to mind here — even though he is harmless unless you don’t want him to be — with that low voice and his look I would guess he would send you running for the exits if he started trying to be sociable with you judging with your stated thoughts about Peter Acworth who frankly doesn’t register too high on the creep-a-meter to me).
mHarris…I will not participate in BDSM. I just do g/g shoots now because I am in a relationship off camera with a bisexual weight trainer and its already dangerous not only to myself, but my co-workers.
He doesn’t test and either do I and we have sex with others outside
the industry.
Yurizan Beltran your not doing boys anymore?
I think she’s referring to Porno Bobbie, an annoying gay porn hanger on who managed to get a job at kink.
I would hope Ackworth is serious here about trying to work out some sort of solution, but I doubt it.
The industry and multiple performers keep bringing up these “let’s discuss the issues” type propositions such as the one Ackworth has brought forth. Obviously, this is a wonderful idea. Discussing the issues is vitally important. But, they bring up every issue on earth except any sort of remote SOLUTION or any form of actual protection.
From above, Acworth puts forth four ideas :
1. “A multi-faceted approach to performer safety that avoids one-size-fits-all solutions.”
Sounds good… what safety precautions, besides after-the-fact testing, will be discussed?
So far, I’ve heard you should:
1. Examine genitals for any weird looking stuff.
2. Learn the symptoms of STD’s.
3. Use common sense in deciding who to have sex with.
No shit, really? Are you really going to educate the public and new performers based on these 3 simple common sense recommendations?
Real sex education instructors would laugh their fucking asses off…
2. “Better education for performers and fans”
Great! Sexual education has been taught for decades. What new sexual education topics have developed lately?
Maybe, condoms can cause your vagina to burn? Or, should we teach them about how condoms don’t work 100% of the time so we should abolish all condom companies because they don’t solve the problem… I mean, they can break and all…
3. “Condom-optional sets, with no discrimination for performers who request to use them.”
This would be absolutely wonderful if there was even a remote chance that it would be followed, respected or even acknowledged by the industry. There are producers, on record, who have said they wouldn’t hire performers who chose to use condoms.
4. “Embracing the use of a PrEP regimen.”
Sounds good… and, how about the rest of the STD’s, STI’s, Hepatitis B&C, Syphilis, etc. I guess those don’t matter?
If all else fails, let’s educate the public that sex is RISKY!!!
… because we all know the public is too fucking stupid to figure that out on their own… omfg.
“Now children, if you stick your penis into a vagina you are a taking a risk. It’s kinda risky. You may catch a disease or some chaffing or maybe a little irritation. Whatever you do, don’t use condoms. They don’t work and they make your risk of contracting an STD dramatically increase.”
And, then we can boycott the condom companies for putting the public at an increased risk for HIV, STD’s, STI,s, etc.
I can’t be the only one who thinks these “solutions” to the problems don’t actually solve anything??
Solutions?? Where are they? Do you have any?
Advocating sexual education courses is great!! They’ve also been taught for decades. What are porn stars going to teach the public about sex that your typical sex ed. class hasn’t taught?
How NOT to use condoms and why they don’t work?
Are you fucking serious?????
Every single sex. ed. course on earth advocates the use of condoms. Could you imagine taking a sex. ed. instructor even remotely serious who stood before a class and said “Condoms don’t work. You need to trust the person you’re about to have sex with… sex is risky.”
Who needs someone, especially a porn star, to teach them that??
@mharris –
I’m probably the wrong submissive to give advice to others… I would most likely get them in a world of trouble.. hahaha.
I’m more of your feisty submissive who will submit after being forced rather than instructed… BDSM is more of a game to me on a psychological level and I play with it accordingly.
I don’t think I could ever be a dom. It just doesn’t seem that interesting to me. I respect the work of a good dom, but I like a level of control that a dom could never have in your typical session. I talk back and like begging and shit… I’m not the best at giving advice on how to be a good submissive. Lol.
With that said, I like being given permission to orgasm and having orgasms delayed, etc.
I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t know what I am at this point…. I’m definitely not a dom, but I’m not really a “good” and “obedient” submissive either…
I just like to push it and see how far I can get… the psychological games are the best part.
Therefore, I try not to give advice on submissive roles because I’d probably get others in a shitload of trouble.. hahaha. 😉
Aah but the feisty (or bratty) submissives are the best kind — they are fun to cane and whip into submission (with a safeword of course) especially if they cum off cue. Feisty submissives also make for good porn viewing. 🙂
@mharris –
Agreed. The bratty ones are the best. 🙂
Although, cumming on cue is a specialty of mine.. that would never get me in trouble. Hahaha.
@ Billy;
No Mr. Maragold I am not fucking faggits on camera anymore.
I am trying to become the next Penthouse pet of the year and
if I can ever win a fucking award again for “something” in this
industry other than “eating” pussy and strap on fucking
girls I will. I have a sugar daddy I met through escorting and he
paid me $ 5.000 to fuck him and be his new Girlfriend for life.
So I stopped fucking fags on camera and just do girls.
Its safer that way.
Yurizan, are you so sure the Billy posting here is Mr. Margold? I can think of another porn industry person named Billy just off the top of my head and that name is quite common in the civilian world.
Also, you may want to learn how to spell. You misspelled both Mr. Margold’s name and the word faggot. I can understand misspelling Mr. Margold’s name but everyone over the age of five knows how to spell faggot.
Watched and replayed each segment of the 5/16/14 HuffPoLive segment hosted by Ricky Camilleri with Peter Acworth, Max Cameron & Jim Pickett guesting along with invited guest comments by Z’ev Hadash, Mike Stabile and HuffPoLive producer Brooke….
This letter isn’t a compromise or conditional surrender, it’s a deflect, deny and divert from AB 1576 & cal/OSHA that are gaining strides to kick his ass aka way of life…every day.
Using gay performers who have chosen Truvada as part of a discerning and responsible approach to serodiscordant relationships is no way near equivalent to promoting Truvada used as PPE (personal protective equipment) for the straight side at performer/ public expense! The NJ in me is wanting to say bah fungul! While right hand having is a hard time sticking to key board and under chin itching to be touched by same right hand.
Acworth who pays for testing on the straight side of porn at KInk.com (unlike most producers who expect the performer to pony up) never once offered to absorb the cost of Truvada in his many efforts to promote, advocate and praise the use of Truvada to protect the ENTIRE performer pool via Truvada use by performers engaging in riskier behaviors. Acworth mentioned escorting as a reality by straight performers but ignored gay escorting and multiple off-set gay partner activity addressed by Max Cameron.
Jim Pickett dissed AHF president Weinstein for his “party drug” references to Truvada while the host Ricky Cavilleri seemed most interested in promoting Truvada as a responsible choice.
Cavilleri pushed and promoted comments about use of Truvada to the point where wonder about his orientation progressed to acceptance that he is gay and doesn’t mind if promoting his agenda to protect the gay community via Truvada use promoted as bare back porn PPE (personal protective use) by traditionally gay ‘condom only’ as we’ll as straight performers who traditionally test via harm reduction porn performers as a personal choice on their dime or thru ACA/Medicare.
Bottom line..till I see producers offering to pony up for the monthly cost of Truvada the reality that Truvada is being promoted as 99% effective is a side issue. Promoting 99% effectiveness for Truvada raises a whole other can of worms even with the nice comments comparing Truvada to Birth Control.
Ps ..tried to edit to include overall impression that this letter and HuffPoLive piece were pathetic attempts to promote Truvada as Ab1576 alternative.
Actually, most insurance covers it.
No one is talking about Truvada and prep being a replacement for AB1576. What we’re talking about — and it’s hugely important — is that if we really care about performers and the threat of HIV, that we need to talk about where it’s being transmitted. Truvada is something that could protect performers in their private lives, no matter what they’re doing. And no one is saying this is a requirement or a substitute for other safer sex measures like condoms and testing — it’s about outreach and education to a community of sex workers who themselves can decide what their risk level is and if it’s right for them. Performer safety shouldn’t be an ideological debate.
I may end up making this a post because I sense it could get long but here goes.
I absolutely agree that Truvada shows promise and should be considered strongly for certain people and yes straight porn performers may fall into that group.
A few things seriously concern me though.
First is that I can hear porners shouting from the rafters right now….We use Truvada, we are protected we dont need condoms. I can hear the industry telling new performers You are safer in the industry than you are in the general population because we use Truvada. The truth is simply that Truvada is supposed to be used WITH condoms. Even if Truvada were 100% effective in preventing HIV it doesnt prevent the STDs that porn has the most problems with, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia, HPV and so on.
Second nobody knows the long term effects that daily use of Truvada has and I am certainly not going to advocate Truvada (or anything else) for anyone who doesnt wish to take it for that reason.
Now some people think I am in favor of the condom law when in fact I have not been, I do not think that more government is a good idea…BUT and this is a big but…I am very much against the approach that the industry has taken regarding other STD’s in that they are easily cured so it isnt a problem….our STD rates have been shown time and time again to be way higher than the general population and that is without even factoring in those people that know how to game the system.
if we as an industry had put more effort into that area the condom law wouldnt even be an issue.
I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding about what risk level means. “Sex workers who themselves cn decide what their risk level is…..” Its NOT about what level of risk you are willing to take, its about what level of risk you are willing to put your partner at. And the fact is, no performer knows what their partner was doing yesterday, or the day before. And we all know that performers are all too willing to put their partners at extreme high risk.
Truvada protects the peron who takes it,,,,condoms protect the person who wears it AND the person they are having contact with. Funny how all the porners now talking about Truvada seem to be leaving out the biggest part of what makes Truvada effective, and that is using Truvada WITH condoms. Read the link above to the Truvada website,,,,alll of the studies that show how effective it is ALL included the use of condoms, why do the porn apoplogists seem to convieniently leave that part out?
For a performer to know what risk level is right for them would mean that they know what their partner has been doing, which of course they do NOT! Without knowing what your partner has been doing you have no idea what level of risk you are taking. It has been shown time and time again that porn performers have no problems with putting thier partners at extreme risk.
The porn industry has YEARS AND YEARS of testing to show exactly how bad the std situation is, but they will NEVER release any stats, because it shows just how much of a cesspool this industry is. Having personally handled tens of thousand of performers std tests I can attest to the cesspool that is the porn industry. Stabile here says, “We need to talk about whats being transmitted,,,” The industry has YEARS of statistics that theywill never talk about.
And can the porn industry, producers and performers alike, please stop this bullshit that we all care about eachother. Anybody willing to have unprotected sex with multiple partners, then turn around the next day and continue to put OTHERS at such risk does NOT CARE about anybody but themselves. You cannot claim to be so concerned about others and continue to put them at risk, or hire them to put others at risk.
Actions speak much louder than words, And the actions of perromers and producers alike make it crystal clear that none of them care about the risk they are willing to put others at. Give me a fucking break,,,”I care about the industry, and I care about health and safety, but I will continue to put you at risk,,,,,,,*****Please!!!!
So here’s what I want to know about Truvada and porn. Who’s going to pay for it? If I understand correctly, producers are unwilling to pay the relatively inexpensive cost of STD tests. From what I’ve read, Truvada costs a little over $1,000 a month. Do we really think some young talent fresh off the bus and trying to make rent is going to fork over $1,000 or so a month for a prescription – assuming his or her doctor will prescribe it specifically so they can engage in risky sexual behavior. Does it really make sense to have the two to five performers in your average Brazzers or Naughty America scene spending $2,000 to $5,000 a month in prescriptions to prevent something that can be prevented with a couple of condoms at a buck each? And, while I understand that many health plans will cover the cost of Truvada, remember that health care premiums are spread over a pool of insured – is it really right of the industry to expect the rest of the population to pay higher health insurance premiums so the porn industry can engage in high risk sexual activity?
To be effective Truvada must be taken everyday, along with condoms.
And just a little more industry hypocrisy. Truvada is inteneded for people at HIGH RISK for HIV,,,,,But for years the industry has said that they are at lower risk, with no HIV transmissions in over ten years,,,,,,of course they are convineatly leaving the entire gay industry out of this argument.
In order to advocate the use of Truvada means that you are admitting that performers are a HIGH RISK group, which is exactly the opposite of what we have all heard from the industry for years.
So which is it,,,are performers safer than the average joe at the bar, as the industry has claimed for years, or are performers HIGH RISK individuals who should be taking Truvada?
@Mikestabile
Till this statement I’ve never doubted your credibility…now I’m calling outright bullshit! You were not only present but quoted by Ricky Cavileri in the 5/16/14 HuffPoLive event where he asked about Truvada overturning Measure B and was responded to by Peter Acworth. Spin it anyway you want but I’m willing to post a verbatim transcript of that event to prove Truvada isn’t being promoted merely as a personal choice but as a method to “protect the entire pool” along with the misleading stats being used and promoted.
Condoms 70% effective rate is exactly why they aren’t FDA or CDC approved. That stat is in large part due to inconsistent use and minimally due to breakage/failure. Now tell me how a population that can’t/won’t use condoms consistently is going to have better success with a daily pill carrying a $33 price tag? The comparisons to Birth Control are great until the data related to unintended pregnancy come into play.
So tell me are there plans to treat Truvada like Viagra/Cialis offering the active ingredients as health supplements to skirt the USA FDA requirements and pharmaceutical costs? Will FSC lawyers get on board to defend those criminal cases too?
I really think there is a larger issue of whether:
Doctors in good conscience would prescribe Truvada to porn performers because they are going to willfully forgo other forms of disease prevention.
More importantly, are insurance companies going to cover the cost in this instance? Example: I’m a nearly 60 year old guy, still very physically active, who thinks he’s in his 20’s. A few months ago, I over extended myself exercising and injured my hip. I had to have an xray and then an MRI. BlueCross is now reconsidering whether to cover the cost of the Xray and MRI because the injury wasn’t an accident – it was my fault. So ….. is the same insurance company that says – hey, you’re a 58 year old guy; you should’ve been smart enough not to do what you did on the elliptical machine going to cover the cost of Truvada so that porn performers can engage in high risk behavior? That’s like asking a life insurance company to give you a low premium if you decide sky dive without a parachute or ride a motorcycle drunk, smoking cigarettes and without a helmet on a dark, icy night in New Hampshire.
It’s fine for Peter Acworth to advocate for Truvada for performers. Let’s see if the highest risk producer in California is willing to put his money where his mouth is and bear the burden of the cost? Or is his position that performers should pay this additional fee for the right to get electrocuted, pissed on and publicly humiliated by his company?
Peter Acworth letter to Weinstein…compromise or hot air?
Look at the interview Peter Acworth did last week, also check out the articles (referenced with screen time but not verbally) at Salon, Reuters and Peter Acworth Blog….it’s absolutely clear that he not only isn’t willing to pony up for Truvada use but wants it to be used by straight performers as part of the CURRENT testing works no onset transmission since 2004 party line.
Acworth is joined by Diane Duke on behalf of the FSC in the Salon article in suggesting Truvada will bring hopeful advantages to the industry as an addition to their (FSC) current methods of self-regulation.
I’m a bit skeptical as to the extent of what those advantages might be given the only study Gilead did on female sex workers had to be discontinued when Truvada proved no more effective than the placebo. Does the FSC think the female performer pool here would be more consistent in daily Truvada (and condoms off set) use than those in the study who received the drug, condoms and testing free of charge from Gilead as part of the study?
Gilead surmised that inconsistent use undermined the study based on the number of participant pregnancies but also had concerns that the drugs effectiveness might be hindered in the vaginal environment. At the time (2012) they placed hope in a vaginal gel that has since been abandoned. Since then Gilead has moved on to pursue a quarterly Truvada delivery system to address inconsistent use treatment failures but hasn’t offered anything to discount their alternate theory about the vaginal environment with respect to the Female Sex Worker study. To me that’s significant because the drug maker not only raised this alternate theory but was working on a drug delivery to defeat the issue.
The extent and timing of Peter Acworth and the FSC media efforts to promote Truvada coupled with the “no onset transmissions since 2004” party line is a transparent effort to maintain an industry status quo against looming regulations that would shift the fiscal burden for performer safety to producers aka FSC and it’s stakeholders. Like the multi-pronged looming regulations they have taken a multi-pronged media defense including the high HIV rates in AB1576 sponsor Assemblyman Hall’s district with the kicker that Measure B, AB1576 and pending policy changes at Cal/OSHA would have had no effect at preventing past industry HIV incidents.
The use of LACPH data comes across as disingenuous at best given the long history of the industry stance that LACPH data is unreliable. The blatant omission of the data related to other STDs distinguishing LA county for its number one position is consistent with the industry stance that HIV not sexually transmitted risks are the issue, additionally off set sex is where the risk exists because current testing protocols act as a door aka barrier keeping those risks off set.
The continued push back against any regulations or evidence of compliance with their self-regulation by an industry screaming from roof tops that not only society but its industries should be regulated to accommodate them isn’t a productive methodology to peaceful existence in that society.
Wow, Harris! Another one of your lunatic rantings? So you call Weinstein .. Weinfuck? Nice ..serve him a cup of coffee with a full ounce of arsenic in it? Wow! It looks like you made a death threat against Weinstein. Get him out of the picture, huh? Sounds like threats to me. Hopefully mr Weinstein will see this. making threats to Isadore hall too, huh? who you refer to as izzy? Wow. I can see why you love and plug kink so much because you are one sick fuck!
Common, look at the smilie behind the comment. It was said in jest, humor is an exception to the slander/libel and threat laws. The court case Falwell v. Flynt Supreme Court decision cements this exception into law. Peter Acworth is also smart enough to recognize the whole comment as a joke. Besides, where would he get the arsenic? I certainly can’t go to the local Quik-E-Mart and buy it where I live.
Also, Harvey Levin is smart enough to recognize a Photoshopped picture when he sees it, he probably gets ten of them every day from people that actually try to ruin someone’s reputation. Trust me, I can’t alter a photo on my computer and get it past his eagle eyes as authentic. However, getting a picture of Izzy getting fucked by Weinfuck published in Hustler would be hilarious (and Larry Flynt might just go for it), especially with a heading over it saying “Preacher-Man Isadore Hall getting his daily dose of AIDS from Michael Weinstein” (Weinstein has HIV and has had it for over two decades now, that is what spurred him to start AHF in the first place as a hospice for terminal AIDS patients). Maybe ol’ Larry will even call Weinfuck and Izzy out in his monthly “Asshole of the Month” column.
Also Common, you are the sick fuck here going after me with both barrels — this comment was six months old. You had to specifically search to find it. If you think the humor I use on this blog is sick you should hear me uninhibited. I promised Mike a long time ago that I would keep a lid on my crude sense of humor, trust me — I can get a lot sicker.
Harris… I can tell when someone is being sarcastic or funny and when someone is pretending to be sarcastic or funny… You were pretending. You meant every word
You have serious issues dude..